New-look RGMI another milestone by 2nd Republic A view from outside: The refurbished Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Lovemore Chikova-Development Dialogue

Another milestone has been achieved in the Second Republic’s development agenda, with the sweet news this week that the upgrading and expansion of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport is now complete.

The new-look airport awaits official opening, with travellers expected to start using the state-of-the-art facility next month.

The US$153 million expansion and upgrading of the airport came at a time President Mnangagwa has indicated that his administration is laying the foundations of development brick by brick.

The benefits set to accrue from the expanded airport will reverberate throughout various economic sectors.

Indeed, the expanded Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport is one of the bricks that the New Dispensation has laid, and is complementing other bricks laid in other sectors. 

In fact, the upgrading of airports augurs well with the developmental aspirations of the New Dispensation being driven by the National Development Strategy 1 and the desire to attain Vision 2030 of achieving an upper middle income economy. 

Airports’ aesthetics are known to influence the preferences of passengers to use them, while in some cases, airports are avoided simply because they are viewed as not up to standard. 

It is important to the development of Zimbabwe that the country’s main airport has been upgraded, as this is envisaged to improve passenger circulation. 

And the net effect of the new facility will be improved customer satisfaction and passenger experience, thus creating a positive lasting impression on travellers, who will act as ambassadors of the country by urging other prospective travellers to consider using Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Being central in Southern Africa, the upgraded airport is set to thrust Zimbabwe as an aviation hub serving the whole region and beyond.

For example, many travellers can prefer to use Harare as a transit point which easily connects them to the region, the whole of Africa, Europe and Asia.

What is needed is for the Airports Company of Zimbabwe to start marketing the newly refurbished airport, clearly stating the advantages of using it to travellers.

The fact that the upgrading works give the airport a passenger handling capacity of at least six million a year from around 2,5 million speaks volumes of the state of the new facility. 

There is now better connectivity and improved flexibility to handle the expected numbers of travellers. 

The designs done on the airport are excellent and they will help address the usual fears of such ports of entry being difficult to pass through and in some instances too hectic. 

Let us take the popular transit points in Africa – OR Tambo International Airport in South Africa and Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia – anyone who has used them in reent past can testify that these are now too crowded and hectic.

With good publicity, Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport can be viewed as a good alternative for transit by travellers, and redirect some of the business to Zimbabwe.

There is no doubt that the completion of the project will add value to the on-going positive growth and transformation trends in trade and tourism in the country.

More tourists are expected to consider Zimbabwe as their next destination because of the ease of travel that will be brought by the new facility.

The work that was done on the airport is mammoth.

The spacious interior adds to the aesthetics of the airport.

There was the construction of the international terminal building and aprons, installation of four new bridges, a secondary radar system, construction of a VVIP pavilion and an airfield ground lighting and communication system. 

China Jiangsu International Economic and Technical Cooperation Group Ltd carried out the works at the new facility. 

This was after the firm did another fabulous job on Victoria Falls International Airport, whose benefits are there for everyone to marvel at.

Just like the new Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, Victoria Falls International Airport had some sections being completely re-built, while other areas were added to the original structure. 

Works at the new-look Victoria Falls International Airport included construction of the runway, terminal, control tower, parking apron, light navigation, communication systems and other facilities. 

The airport has since increased its capacity from 500 000 arrivals per year to two million, while wide body air planes such as Boeing 747 and 767 and Airbus 340 and 380 are now able to take off or land on the newly-built airfield runway. 

After completion of the works at Victoria Falls International Airport, there has been an increased number of airlines landing there.

These included Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways, Lufthansa Group’s leisure airline, Eurowings Discover and Emirates.

Other airlines flying to Victoria Falls are Ethiopian Airways, which launched a direct flight to the destination using a Boeing 737-800, Kenya Airways, British Airways, South African Airways, Fastjet and Airlink.

Our own Air Zimbabwe is part of this crew.

Victoria Falls International Airport has proven that an upgraded airport has the potential to attract new airlines, and this is expected to also happened at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

Sometimes destinations remain hidden to tourists because there is no connectivity, but once airlines start adding those places to their itinerary, then the interest also arises.

The completion of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport shows that the New Dispensation is serious about delivering on projects in line with its blueprint — the National Development Strategy 1.

Other airports have also been refurbished.

Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport in Bulawayo underwent major rehabilitation which upgraded it to international standards, with an enhanced runway that can accommodate wide body planes. 

The terminal building has a capacity to handle 1,5 million passengers per year and features all requisite safety systems, security systems and ambience characteristic of a modern airport. 

The airport, which is now four times bigger than the old one after upgrading, boasts facilities which include CCTV, access control, a fire alarm system and a state-of-the-art telephone system that meets international standards. 

A number of airports in various areas are also being upgrading. 

Buffalo Range Airport situated near the Great Limpopo Trans Frontier Park is one such an airport, Kariba Airport, which offers a transport link to the Kariba Dam, one of the largest man-made dams in the world, is another one. 

Some of the airports are Hwange Airport located near the Hwange National Park, Masvingo Airport which offers access to the renowned Great Zimbabwe Monuments, Charles Prince Airport in Harare and Grand Reef Airport in Mutare. 

The others are Bumi Hills Airport, Chipinge Airport and Gweru Airport. 

The upgrading of these airports is in line with the Government’s Devolution and Decentralisation Policy, which envisages provinces being able to stand on their own economically.

It is known that an airport has the potential to change the entire economic structure of a province by opening it up to outsiders, and a province that is not easily accessible by air is likely to lag in terms of development when it comes to the attraction of both foreign and local investors.

Airports are strategic for the development of tourism — one of the pillars for attaining Vision 2030 of achieving an upper middle income economy.

Once these other airports are done, it will be much easier to link tourists to various destinations across the country when they show up at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.

The ideal situation is for a tourist who arrives at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport to find planes waiting at the domestic terminal to travel to the various destinations in the country.

With the upgrading of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, there is no doubt that the aviation sector in Zimbabwe has taken a turn in its fortunes, and its growth is now set on an upward trajectory.

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